


Day 159

by Josh_the_Bard



Series: A Year in Kirkwall [159]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:39:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24614644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Josh_the_Bard/pseuds/Josh_the_Bard
Series: A Year in Kirkwall [159]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1589257
Kudos: 1





	Day 159

Saving but a few is not Justice. Actions that do not challenge the status quo are irrelevant. 

Anders ignored the voice in his head. Thrask has presented the mages with an opportunity to liberate a few mages. A small number, as Justice was quick to point out but more than none. More free mages than yesterday. 

Your life is not long enough to be satisfied with saving a few at a time. Drastic action is needed and it is needed now. The people are forgetting the part mages played in protecting them from the Qunari. Soon they will turn on you one again. 

Today was not about the big picture. Today was about the little picture. Anders tried to keep his head clear so he could focus on the task at hand. From his vantage point he could see the Gallows courtyard, specifically a collection of tranquill stands.

They are the symbols of oppression, trapped in a prison of their own mind. Free them!

Anders pushed down the impulses and waited. Thrask said that several mages would be carrying out supplies to deliver to the tranquil shopkeepers. If Anders and the other resolutionists created a distraction Thrask and his loyal templars would pretend to be fooled, allowing the mages to escape. They already sabotaged the boats so that when the templars went out to catch the escapees, they would sink and lose the phylacteries, giving the mages a fighting chance.

Eventually Anders caught sight of them. Thrask led a few mages through the gate and towards the stands. They looked nervous, Anders didn’t blame them.

The templars will not expect and attack. Strike at them now and be rid of them.

Not today. Today they are helping.

They cannot help, not really. Not while they stand with our oppressors.

Anders launched his attack just as the mages were unloading their goods. He used lightning, as it would make the greatest noise. He aimed for the stall itself, it would create a lot of noise but not harm anyone. Some of the other mages combined fire and ice to create a thick steamy fog. The templars made a big show of shouting and running around in a panic. Anders moved in closer, making sure to keep his face covered. He had left his signature feathered pauldrons at home, the templars were looking for any excuse to arrest or execute him. 

Anders pushed his way into the fog and found the mages. He passed around ragged clothes to disguise them as dockworkers. They quickly shed their robes and dressed as well as they could in their panic. Anders then had them hold hands so as not to lose track of each other and led them towards the harbor. Once they arrived they climbed onboard a boat, the only one the resolutionists hadn’t tempered with. 

Once they were across the water Anders took a moment for his charges to compose themselves. No one would look twice at a group of dower dockworkers, but, even in Kirkwall, people would usually take notice of a group of panicking civilians.

It was a short trip from the boat to the entrance to the secret sewer passage that would get them off the streets. All it cost was a magical necklace for Bonny Lem so he would keep their passage a secret. Unless the templars got aggressive with their questions, but that was the danger of dealing with those not committed to the cause.

The passage spit them out in Darktown not too far from Anders’ clinic, but he was sure that would be among the first places the templars would search. Instead, they opened the secret door to the cellar of the Hawke estate. There was enough food and wine in there to keep the five escapees alive for weeks. Hawke would keep the templars out until the mage underground could move them somewhere else. 

Anders didn’t like involving Hawke so overtly in the mage underground. He was not the most subtle of figures, and was far too often in the public eye. However, on such short notice, Anders had few other options. Hawke and Bodahn had agreed not to even acknowledge the existence of the cellar until Anders gave them the all clear. 

Anders assured the mages he would be back soon, and that they were safe, before slipping back to his clinic. He hoped he would be able to keep his promise.


End file.
